Rise Up

Album: Cheers To The Fall (2015)
Charted: 61 101
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In this motivational song, Audra Day sings about rising up every day to keep working past our obstacles. Our challenges sometimes seem insurmountable, but if we keep fighting, day after day, we'll overcome them eventually.

    Day told Time about writing the song: "My music and my personal life were both stagnating at the time, and a friend of mine had been diagnosed with cancer. "Rise Up" started as a sort of prayer - I thought about what I needed to hear to be able to get back on my feet. Most of the song came streaming out in the first freestyle recording. Honestly, there are lines in there I'd normally find cliché. But sometimes a good cliché is exactly what you need in a moment of hopelessness."
  • Day wrote this song with Jennifer Decilveo, who also produced the track. Decilveo has also written and produced for Anne-Marie, Bat for Lashes, and Hinds.
  • The video was directed by M. Night Shyamalan of The Sixth Sense fame. In it, we see a young couple in bed, and later learn that the guy is paralyzed. She has to care for him every day, but he manages to take her on a date to a nice restaurant. The actress is Bisserat Tseggai; the guy is played by Gregory Mozgala, who has Cerebral Palsy.
  • In 2017, "Rise Up" caught on with the Black Lives Matter matter movement, to which Day offered her full-throated support.
  • A cover by the TikTok star Christian Shelton was used in a 2021 Super Bowl commercial for Indeed titled "The Rising."
  • In May 2016, Day entered into an agreement with McDonald's and Coca-Cola. The partnership saw her image and lyrics to "Rise Up" appear on 40 million Coca-Cola cups at select McDonald's throughout the US. Purchasers of the exclusively designed cups could enter a sweepstakes that allowed them to see Day perform at the Essence Music Festival the following month.

Comments: 1

  • Herman Ramiro from Saudi ArabiaWho is andra day's friend who was diagnosed with cancer? Did she/he survived?
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Colin Hay

Colin HaySongwriter Interviews

Established as a redoubtable singer-songwriter, the Men At Work frontman explains how religion, sobriety and Jack Nicholson play into his songwriting.

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.

La La Brooks of The Crystals

La La Brooks of The CrystalsSong Writing

The lead singer on "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me," La La explains how and why Phil Spector replaced The Crystals with Darlene Love on "He's A Rebel."

Songs About Movies

Songs About MoviesSong Writing

Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.